The author of As a Man Thinketh, James Allen, was born in 1864 in Leicester, England. He left his schooling and began working at 15 after his father was murdered while seeking work in the US (“James Allen.” PenguinRandomhouse.Com, Penguin Random House). According to author Mitch Horowitz, who wrote the introduction to an anthology of Allen’s work titled The Wisdom of James Allen, Allen was a successful student and profuse reader, but he had to give up on his intellectual dreams to support his family in his father’s absence (Horowitz, Mitch. “Working-Class Sage, the Power and Progress of James Allen.” Medium, 2020). Allen worked as a factory knitter for nine years but kept up with his studies, reading Shakespeare and ethical and religious texts from his father’s collection, even though he often worked 15-hour days (Horowitz).

Allen’s life changed significantly when he was 24 after he read the epic poem The Light of Asia by Edwin Arnold and discovered the teachings of Buddhism, which inspired him to pursue religious self-development and “inner refinement” (Horowitz). In 1889, Allen took a job as a private secretary in London and shortly thereafter met his wife, fellow writer Lily L.